VERO BEACH — A 47-year-old woman was pulled from the water late this morning in front of The Driftwood Inn by two men after she was attacked by a shark shortly after 11:30. The woman, who has since been identified as Karin Ulrike Stei of Konstanz, Germany, sustained “significant” lacerations to one of her legs, according to Indian River County Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Brian Burkeen.
Stei has since been airlifted to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center for treatment and was listed in serious condition.
“We were just watching the surf and heard her scream,” said Dave Daniels, who had been watching the woman swim for about 15 minutes from the deck of The Driftwood Inn. “It could have been one of the kids in the beach. We barely heard her. The thing that drew attention was all the blood in the water. All the blood in the water, I realized it had to have been a shark.”
He ran down the beach while his wife called 911.
According to the Vero Beach Police Department, Stei was swimming with a friend, Brigitte Schmid, also of Germany, in waist-deep water when the incident occurred. Stei was approximately 30 yards from the shore and Schmid was approximately 20 to 25 yards from the shore when Stei was bitten.
Schmid told investigators she was not aware that Stei was in danger until she heard her yell “shark.” She turned to look at her friend and saw blood in the water near her.
Along with Daniels, City of Vero Beach Lifeguard Eric Toombstoo, who was on duty at the Humiston Beach Lifeguard station entered the water to rescue Stei.
Toombstoo and Daniels brought Stei to shore and were assisted by Lifeguards Jordan Farrow and Shanna Beard. Beard, who is also a registered nurse, was off duty at the time.
“I don’t have much experience with that but I don’t imagine there is much to put back together,” Daniels said of Stei’s leg. He said a lot of flesh was missing from her leg and bones were exposed.
“The person who swam out to help me (Lifeguard Toombstoo) was yelling for them to get oxygen,” he said. “He wanted to put the towel on the wound. The artery was shooting blood. I wanted to get out of their way.”
Daniels, 58, said waves were running three to four feet and the woman was swimming with a fluttering motion to her kicks. He said a shark might have thought the kicks mimicked a bait fish.
A resident of Michigan, Daniels had spent Tuesday night at The Driftwood and planned to check out today. He is now staying at a sister-in-law’s house on the mainland.
“Because I am a diver, I have listened to a lot of stories about sharks. They really don’t want to attack humans and learn that it is a mistake and I was hoping all that information was a correct,” Daniels said. “I didn’t have a choice. I could not sit and watch her drown. The adrenaline took over and that was it. I didn’t stop. I had no time to think about it.
“I would imagine that shark’s mouth had to be 12 inches across to take that. It was like something you would see on TV and never experience in your life time,” Daniels said.
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
Online Editor Debbie Carson contributed to this report.
Originally reported at 12:20 p.m.
